Have you ever reached the end of the day feeling exhausted only to reflect back and realize you didn’t really accomplish a lot for the day or you accomplished the wrong things?
Yeah, at one time or another we have all experienced this and some of us experience it daily. We can easily get caught up in the day and this is known as the Parkinson’s Law, named after Cyril Parkinson. Cyril coined the term in a 1955 Economist article and then turned it into a book in 1957. Parkinson’s Law is “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” So without a precise focus on what needs to get accomplished, we can fill our entire days up with minutia.
There are techniques you can introduce into your daily regime to help you focus and be more productive. Then it is a matter of putting some dedicated structure around the techniques to entrench it into your routine and make it your new habit.
I will introduce five different techniques you can try, change to fit your style or combine one or more techniques together to make them work for you.
1. Batch processing is the grouping of similar tasks that require similar resources in order to streamline their completion. Batching is setting aside an intentional amount of time for identified tasks and making an intentional effort to not allow the distractions or interjections of others break that focus.
The Pomodoro Technique is a good example of batch processing. It is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980’s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally twenty-five (25) minutes in length, separated by short breaks. You focus on similar tasks or one objective for each twenty-five minute session and then take a five minute break.
You can use this technique to focus on different tasks or objectives for each block of time, on similar tasks or one objective for several twenty-five minute blocks, or some combination. The key is to really focus on the objective for the entire block of time and then take a complete mental break. This could be getting up and walking around, getting a drink, listening to music or maybe you just close your eyes and mentally rest.
2. Calendar blocking is a technique where you pre-schedule your day using your calendar and block out time for designated tasks, projects, assignments, email, calls, etc. This requires pre-planning and taking the time to schedule things in your calendar. It is very important to take ownership of your work calendar though or it will end up filled by others and you have no time to complete the things you need to complete.
You could create a standard daily routine for every day. Maybe from 8:00 am to 9:00 am every day you work through your email inbox. Maybe on Tuesdays and Thursday you block thirty minutes to walk the office or production floor checking in with your teams.
You could also schedule assignments or objectives daily based on what needs to get accomplished. You would take time at the end or start of your day to block out times. It really depends on your needs, your work load and how fast your calendar fills up from others on when and how you should do it. Scheduling out your day helps bring the accountability piece into play, and your calendar will help you remember by popping up a reminder so you don’t get distracted and forget.
3. Setting daily themes is another technique you can use to be more productive. Maybe Monday’s are tactical, Tuesdays are project focused, Wednesdays are creative or innovated in nature, etc. Maybe Monday and Wednesdays are on project A and Tuesday and Thursdays are project B and Fridays are email management. Obviously the themes would depend on your business and what needs to be accomplished, but the idea is to focus on a type of theme for each day.
4. Writing/journaling technique is a method of actually writing things down. I have found simply writing things down on my to-do list or journaling notes from a meeting sticks in my mind more so than just typing it electronically. You spend about ten minutes at the end of the day or first thing in the morning to prepare the list of must-completes for the day, and you understand you cannot stop for the day until those must complete items are checked off. I recommend having 3 to 5 must completes for the day.
I am always amazed how much I get accomplished every day and am still able to manage through all of the minutia, one-offs and fires that pop up throughout the day. I keep my items in a little journal and carry it with me throughout the day so I am always keeping it top of mind. When at my desk, it is open to the current day’s list. Keep in mind there may be instances when items on the list realistically have to be moved and re-prioritized. You have to hold yourself accountable to accomplish what you need to accomplish, but you also cannot beat yourself up because you had to move something back a bit.
5. Electronic Tools allows you to manage tasks, projects, journals, to-do lists, etc. across platforms. This allows you to track items, make notes, and share with others whether you are at your computer, on a tablet or on a smart phone. It allows you to have access all the time. You can even add others to these tools who are on your team or working on a project with you. A couple of examples of these type of tools would be Evernote and Trello apps.
These are just a few ways to focus on your personal productivity to help you accomplish more of the right things and not get lost in all of the minutia. Try each method or some combination to find what works best for you. You may even find some of the methods work for you on a daily basis and some methods may work for certain projects or tasks you are trying to complete. The key though is to start implementing now and you will see your productivity increase.
Be Great…Today!!!
Brandon Brazeel, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
For some additional tips on effective remote time management: How to Effectively Manage Your Time While Working Remotely